Tag Archives: Sony

Anytime a new generation of gaming systems is in the works, it is hard to keep it a secret, and this news is no exception. In fact, this story was probably the worst kept secret in the gaming industry. However, the news was made official by Sony CEO, Kenichiro Yoshida, in an interview with the Financial Times. Sony is currently working on a successor to the PlayStation 4 but has stopped short of calling it the PlayStation 5.

“At this point, what I can say is it’s necessary to have a next-generation hardware,” Yoshida said.

This announcement comes after Microsoft announced that they are currently testing Project xCloud, streaming technology for playing any Xbox games on phones and tablets. The public will be able to test this project beginning next year.

Sony does offer streaming games on the PS4 and PC with its PlayStation Now service, which was previously available on Samsung Smart TVs.

Yoshida did not give an exact date for when the new system would be available on the market, but according to Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO John Kodera, the new system is hinted to be released in 2021 as reported by Digital Trends. Kodera previously stated in May that the PS4 has entered “the final phase of its life cycle.”

Do not expect for Sony to drop the PlayStation name as the game systems with the name have been very successful in the past 3 decades. The PlayStation 2 is the best selling console of all time with 155 million units sold. The PS4 since it was launched in 2013 has sold 80 million units, and it will likely pass the sales of the PS3, which sold 83.8 million units according to GameSpot.

After a very quiet E3 from Sony on the PlayStation side of things, it was announced that there will not be a PlayStation Experience for 2018, at least in the United States.

No PSX for PlayStation fans this year leaves questions; photo from kotaku.com

Shawn Layden, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) Worldwide Studios chairman made the announcement. His reasoning behind the decision was that he believed they would not be able to live up to the expectations of a high-profile media event with not much to show.

Layden said on the PlayStation Blogcast that with the focus on the recent and successful release of Spider-Man and the future releases of games like Dreams and Days Gone, there was no way there would be enough people from North America to appear for the event.

Sony has had a very successful year with games like God-Of-War, which broke Sony’s game sales record with 3.1 million copies sold within the first three days of release. This record would not last for long as Spider-Man would break the record with 3.3 million copies sold.

However, at E3, Sony only focused on four games: Spider-Man, The Last of Us: Part II, Death Stranding, and Ghost of Tsushima.

PlayStation Experience, which is also known as PSX, first appeared in Europe in the 2000s, disappeared for a number of years, and then reappeared in the United States in 2014.

Layden did not rule out the possibility of the return of PSX in the future.

This news comes after rumors of Sony allowing PlayStation Network users the ability to change their usernames. PSN users were hoping that the rumor would had been confirmed at PSX.

We all know what you are here to read about—a “new” PlayStation. It can’t be, right? Can it really be the PlayStation 5 that everyone has been looking forward to for the past few years? Well… maybe not. While many may be getting their hopes up for something new from Sony’s most successful gaming platform, but this newest update to the PlayStation family is going a slightly different direction.

All of the accessories of the PlayStation Classic including the console itself. Photo from blog.us.playstation.com

Sony has announced a throwback version of the PlayStation 1 to celebrate 24 years of PlayStation and to follow in the same path that Nintendo has done for the past few years now.

This new version of the PlayStation 1 will be called the PlayStation Classic and will feature 20 games from the PS1’s original library that will be built into the station. The system will be updated in order to work on a modern television, and much smaller than the original PS1—so small, in fact, that you could hold it in your hand.

Sony has only announced five of the 20 games to be on the PlayStation Classic, including Final Fantasy 7 and Tekken 3.

On a video posted to Sony’s YouTube channel, the PlayStation Classic will not be able to play games from the original PS1, but only its 20 pre-loaded games. The PlayStation Classic will come with two retro controllers, will not have an AC adapter, and only possess HDMI for audio and video and a micro-USB for power.

Sony will be releasing the PlayStation Classic on December 3, the same day that the original PS1 was released 24 years ago, for $99.99 to buy—to compare, some games with bonus features, additional content, and free virtual cash (much like the upcoming Red Dead Redemption 2) will have a roughly similar cost all its own.

Most of us remember a few months ago when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was hearing the case for and against “net neutrality.” Now, we are slowly hearing about the repercussions of repealing net neutrality.

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a video game industry lobby group, has decided to join in the lawsuit against the FCC, joining a mix of Democratic state attorney generals, tech companies like Mozilla (Firefox), and many more.

The ESA noted that its members will be harmed by the repeal and it would hurt online gaming the most. In a statement, the ESA said this was “because the FCC’s order permits ISP’s to take actions that could jeopardize the fast, reliable, and low-latency connections that are critical to the video game industry.”

Net neutrality is a very controversial topic in politics. The rules prohibit Internet service providers from blocking or throttling lawful Internet traffic and prevent extra-charges for people looking to get better access. These rules are crucial to the video game industry according to an ESA brief, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the DC Circuit.

Also in the brief, it was noted that while music and movie streaming providers can use buffering to account for network problems, the ESA noted that their clients can’t do the same.

The ESA is also very worried about the downloads of large games and how these games can be “slowed down” due to the loss of net neutrality.

Big names in the video game industry that are represented by ESA include Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Ubisoft, and Disney.

ESA’s case will be under the name of Mozilla Corporation v. Federal Communications Commission and the United States of America.

On Friday, February 19, singer and songwriter Kesha Rose Sebert (better known as Ke$ha) lost a bid to be freed from her contract with Sony. Kesha has been in this legal battle for quite some time now and has been fighting hard against a producer that she alleges was both sexually and mentally abusive.

Kesha was a model student in high school. She had perfect SAT scores and was even taking online courses through a nearby university. Kesha dropped out of high school at the age of 18 when she met Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald, a world-renowned music producer.

Dr. Luke has worked with many other big names such as Katy Perry, Miranda Cosgrove, and Jessie J. Dr. Luke promised Kesha fame and fortune, recognizing the musical ability she had.

Celebrities on Twitter “stand with Kesha” after the court’s decision. Image from mashable.com

Although Dr. Luke delivered his promise when Kesha hit it big with her multi platinum single, “Tik Tok,” Kesha was extremely unhappy with Dr. Luke as her producer.

In details of the lawsuit against Dr. Luke, Kesha was reportedly raped by the producer when he forced her to snort illegal drugs and later gave her “sober pills” which were actually a date-rape drug. Kesha woke up the following afternoon “sore and sick” and immediately called her mother and was taken to the emergency room.

Although it’s not clear why this was never reported to the police, other details in the case may be a sort of breadcrumb trail. Along with the alleged rape, Kesha claimed that Dr. Luke was mentally abusive. He repeatedly called her “fat,” eventually causing her to develop an eating disorder.

Kesha spent time in a rehab facility which specializes in eating disorders and was warned by doctors that Dr. Luke was a toxic force in her life and she needed to stay away from him. However, this is virtually impossible as Dr. Luke holds Kesha’s music career in his hands and avoiding working with him would be extremely difficult.

Kesha has been fighting hard to be freed from her 6-record contract with Sony so that she doesn’t have to work with her alleged rapist and abuser.

Kesha’s bid to be freed from the contract was turned down on the grounds that Kesha has the opportunity to record without having direct contact with Dr. Luke. However, even if Kesha doesn’t have to physically be near Dr. Luke, he would likely produce most of the songs on any new album, meaning they would have to be in contact.

Photos of the singer in court have been making their rounds on the internet. One photo in particular shows a tear-soaked Kesha crying in the back of the courtroom next to her mother as the ruling is announced. One particularly touching photo shows Kesha crying with a fan in a strong embrace as she exited the courtroom.

Despite the disappointing ruling, the outpour of support for the singer has been overwhelming. Demi Lovato announced her support for Kesha via Twitter, while Taylor Swift reportedly donated $250,000 to Kesha, since her work has been put on hold. Social media has been a vital tool in the growing support for Kesha, with the hashtags #FreeKesha and #IStandWithKesha going viral and producing thousands of memes showing support for the singer.

Although this is one rape case out of many that may never get justice, this case is especially complicated as Kesha’s entire career and livelihood is essentially being held for ransom. Kesha has been extremely strong in the way she’s dealt with the case and offered up details that may have been extremely hard to come to terms with.

So why is it so important that we stand with Kesha? Although her sexual assault may not have been dealt with legally, one can tell that something has been done to Kesha that is causing her to fight so hard and be so visibly emotional.

This is an extremely high profile case, and with that comes people of much less stature who have experienced similar situations who are being exposed to the details of this case. To see Kesha’s strength and to offer support for her is vital not only to the singer, but to rape and abuse victims everywhere. If Dr. Luke weren’t guilty and if he had even an ounce of human decency, wouldn’t he simply step away and allow Kesha to work with a different producer?

Along with rape and abuse, there is a much larger picture we must look at: how the music industry treats its women. Rapper Chris Brown plead guilty in 2009 to a felony charge of assault against his ex-girlfriend, singer Rihanna.

Despite being a violent felon who has committed a heinous crime against another human being, Brown still has a thriving music career and his fans have largely forgiven the incident.

On the other hand, Rihanna said in a 2015 interview with Vanity Fair that she felt she has been repeatedly punished since the incident. For example, the NFL declined to use her and Jay-Z’s hit song, “Run this Town” during an opening-weekend broadcast of a game.

This happened around the time of the Ray Rice incident and many speculate that they didn’t want to use Rihanna’s song because she, like Rice’s wife, was a victim of domestic violence. Also, Zayn Malik, the now ex-member of boyband One Direction was freed from his contract simply because he wasn’t happy in the band anymore.

So why isn’t Kesha being given the same graces? Although there is an outpouring of support for the singer, there are also many harsh criticisms.

As with most unsolved rape cases, many are asking why the rape was never reported to police. Some arguments that I’ve seen against Kesha include allegations that the singer is only bringing up the lawsuit for money. Others criticize her for not continuing to make music, although she does have the option to record.

These criticisms show that there is a still a massive misunderstanding of rape in our culture. Rape often isn’t something that someone can just get over and move on from. Many times, victims experience extreme trauma following the incident. Along with that, it seems Dr. Luke has an extensive history in abusing Kesha. You know when doctors are saying she should stay away from him that there is a real issue.

Despite the fact that the universal understanding of rape is probably very far away, fans and supporters of Kesha need to remain strong. Our justice system has a long history of letting down rape victims, typically because of a lack of physical evidence. However, we need to be vigilant and stand up against a system that has largely failed.

Kesha lost her case onFriday against her producer, Dr. Luke, after accusing him of raping her in 2006 and then continuing to abuse her, mentally and physiologically. Kesha went to court in order to ask for a break of contract with the record company, Sony, so she could make music without Dr. Luke. Thecontractstated that Kesha must stay and make six more albums with Sony as well as Dr. Luke. The judge did not issue for her contract to be cancelled, which forces Kesha to work alongside her rapist and abuser for six more albums, that is, if she can mentally handle making more music with him.

Kesha after losing her case against Dr. Luke. Photo from nydailynews.com

What kind of world do we live in where an artist, a woman, has to work with her rapist, has to be legally bound to a man who has ruined her life for the last ten years, because the law says so? Because there wasn’t enough “evidence” to prove Kesha’s story?

What kind of society holds money and power as more important than the wellbeing of a person, of a woman whose dream was to make music for a living and was taken advantage because of it? What kind of professional establishment, a record company, would force its employee to work with a man who raped her, simply because he makes the most money for the label? How does this happen to somehow who has done nothing but good and respectable things for this world? Where is the justice?

Sony claims to have offered Kesha a new producer, someone who can help her make her music that isn’t Dr. Luke; however, what they failed to mention is that if she did choose to changer her producer, the label would refuse to promote the album, which in turn, would make switching producers counterproductive and make it impossible for Kesha to make music in a safe atmosphere.

The legal and justice system has some updating to do. It’s ridiculous that she was denied her break of contract considering the circumstances, and the man who raped her is left off, his left barely affected at all. Kesha and all of the female artists out there who have been through the same situation deserve better than to be put below money and power on the importance totem pole. When it comes down to it, money will be worthless and power will be subjective. People are what matter and the owners of Sony and Dr. Luke need to be reminded of that.

Netflix kicked off October by announcing that Adam Sandler has signed on with them to produce and star in four consecutive comedy films to exclusively be released on their streaming service. With their success in both House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, it makes sense that the site would want to continue their exclusive content and move towards even bigger Blockbuster trends. The choice of star is a no-brainer according to Netflix’s head of content, Ted Sarandos, Sandler’s films have consistently been top of the most-watched list for global users.

Adam Sandler will have four new movies released exclusively from Netlfix. Graphic from NewsWire

But what’s in it for Sandler?

Although the globally renowned comedian claims he was immediately in agreement due to the rhyming quality of “Netflix” with “Wet Chicks,” the actor will be paid his standard fee by the streaming giant, just as he would with a theater release. Additionally, the movies will be released simultaneously to any Netflix subscriber around the world, as well as becoming part of a popular trend in media. Therefore, where Sandler is concerned, it’s a win-win. He gets his standard fee plus the ability to win-over fans around the world with instant gratification.

And while movie theaters are still crowded on Friday nights and box offices still sell out with new releases, there has been a larger and larger trend for viewers to pay a small monthly fee for a streaming service. College students should certainly understand that budget restraints that might motivate you to wait until a movie comes out on DVD or Netflix to partake, particularly with comedies that come out the same week as Marvel hits like The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Therefore, this seems like a good move for customer satisfaction on the part of both the streaming service and Box Office star.

However, several movie giants, particularly Sony, have been outraged by the deal as they regularly sign with Sandler at a great profit.

Will this deal turn into a trend to replace the traditional theater releases in popularity of major silver screen stars? It’s hard to imagine a world where we aren’t seeing people line up for midnight releases of action movies, but, at least for smaller scale releases, we could be witnessing the future.

Facebook recently bought out Oculus Rift, the current leader in consumer-ready virtual reality gaming that strongly resembles the visor your Sims wear. Anyone with internet access has heard of this — and the backlash it caused. However, many may not be aware of exactly why people are in such an uproar. Continue reading Oculus Rift and your virtual reality options→

The Playstation 4, more commonly known as the PS4, was announced during a special event at the E3 gaming convention. It’s Sony’s next big contender in the eighth generation of consoles. The PS4 is Sony’s fourth game console, succeeding the PS3 and its great-grandfather, the original Playstation.

Microsoft did something bold recently. They tried to bring an all-digital experience to gamers of the 21st century using Xbox One. Microsoft’s intent was to allow users to share games with their friends and family without leaving the couch. In order to do this, Microsoft mandated that all consoles be checked for internet connectivity in order to validate that people were not “copying” games for more than ten people. In addition, Microsoft said that using the Kinect camera would be requirement.

After CES (Consumer Electronics Show) earlier this year, there has been much hype on the technologies that will eventually fall within the grasp of the consumer. With televisions starting at $3,000 and topping $125,000, it’s a safe bet that you won’t be getting these sets tomorrow. However, in due time, the prices will slide down considerably. The big showstopper this year was the ultra-high-definition televisions.

Black Coffee

Black Coffee is a joint media project created and produced by Whim and Radford on Camera. Black Coffee takes the talents of Radford’s musically gifted and provides them with an outlet to play for the community by means of student-run, student-produced media.